Last week, the Libertarian Party of Colorado made the surprising announcement that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be the state's presidential candidate.
Party officials said the deal was mutually beneficial: Kennedy, an independent, could secure a spot on Colorado's ballot, while the Libertarians said they shared Kennedy's values and that backing his candidacy could undermine the two-party system.
But there is one potential problem.
The National Libertarian Party has already selected a candidate, but it's not RFK. A man named Chase Oliver was nominated at the party's convention in May and will appear on the Libertarian Party's ballot nationwide, but apparently not in Colorado.
Caryn Ann Haros, a Castle Rock member who describes herself as a “hummingbird” in libertarian political circles, isn't happy about that.
“I can say I swung the bat perfectly. [expletive] “That's probably an understatement,” said Halroth, who believed the state party was acting on its own and that a decision to choose a new candidate would violate the agreements and bylaws that govern the party.
“You know, Libertarians don't believe in government. But we do believe in voluntary contracts. A world where you can't even do that is Thunderdome,” she said, emphasizing that she was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the party.
So Harlos, who is also an official in a national political party, took action.
Earlier this week, she printed out the state's candidacy paperwork, filled in the names of Chase Oliver and his running mate, Mike Tarr Mart, then had it notarized at her bank and delivered to the Secretary of State's office.
That paperwork officially declared Oliver, not Kennedy, to be Colorado's candidate. Meanwhile, Oliver's campaign filed its own paperwork accepting the nomination, all in line with standard procedure, Haros argues. She also filed paperwork for 2020 to get the Libertarian Party candidate on Colorado's ballot that year.
It appears the national party got ahead of the state parties, which as of Wednesday morning had not yet filed paperwork to nominate RFK in their place.
The fight is not over yet
The state party has strongly disputed Harlos's claims. State party officials say their rules don't require them to follow the national party's lead. They say the selection of Colorado's presidential candidate rests entirely in the hands of the state committee.
“There are legitimate questions and concerns that Mrs. Haros may have overstepped her authority, not only in her communications with Colorado SOS, but also in her role as secretary general of LNC,” state party spokesman Jordan Marinovich said in an email.
He said the state party plans to file its own paperwork soon.
Harros hasn't yet completed his paperwork. According to the Secretary of State's office, the national party has until Sept. 6 to submit the names of its 10 presidential electors and complete its nomination. In the meantime, the state Libertarian Party could also finalize its own nomination papers.
It could turn into a fight between rival factions or even a legal battle.
“A single party may not have multiple presidential and vice presidential candidates on Colorado's ballot. The Department of State will accept the docket submitted by the Libertarian Party chapter. Colorado law does not provide for intraparty conflicts over nominations,” Secretary of State spokesman Jack Todd wrote.
The open rift has also caused a scandal at the national level of the party, where national chair Angela McArdle reprimanded Halross for filing the paperwork, according to emails released by the state party.
“You may not usurp my authority as chair,” McArdle wrote to Haros, according to the document. “You took unilateral action this week and put us at risk of legal action. To be clear, you acted outside the scope of your authority when you sent that document to SOS. [the state party] Because we had a written contract with Kennedy … we are not going to get involved in litigation on your behalf.”
The national party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But one man has a shot at winning either way: Kennedy.
His campaign has already been collecting signatures from thousands of voters for weeks. If he submits enough valid signatures, he could appear on the ballot as an independent, regardless of the Libertarian Party's actions. Campaign volunteer Gisele Massi said the campaign has submitted more than 20,000 signatures, exceeding the 12,000-signature requirement. The collection should be completed by the end of this week.
This reflects a larger division within the minority party.
Even before the state party turned its attention to RFK Jr., Colorado state chair Hannah Goodman had opposed the national candidate, Oliver.
“He doesn't necessarily represent libertarians across the country,” she said on the Free State Colorado podcast, pointing to Oliver's positions on COVID-19 response and transgender youth.
Courtesy of Hannah Goodman
Oliver has spoken out in support of non-surgical gender reassignment treatment for minors and LGBTQ rights more broadly, and is part of a growing wing of the party that takes culturally conservative views on issues such as sex.
The state party has presented Kennedy as a good alternative. Though he was a Democrat until recently, it argues that his focus on “ending corporate welfare, cutting government spending and protecting the environment” aligns with the party's priorities. Libertarian supporters also argue he could bring new money and weight to the party.
But others, like Harlos, disagree, calling Kennedy a liberal because he said he would sign the assault weapons ban, which passed on a bipartisan basis. Kennedy was the Libertarian Party's nominee at the national convention, but received only 19 votes from more than 900 delegates.
This has happened before: In 2000, Colorado-born science fiction writer L. Neil Smith appeared on the Arizona ballot instead of the National Libertarian Party candidate.
In Colorado, the Libertarian Party ranks third in party membership, far behind the Democrats and Republicans.
In 2020, the Libertarian Party candidate received about 52,000 votes in the state, or 1.6% of the vote. But this year, a minor candidate could do unusually well. A recent Rocky Mountaineer poll showed Kennedy with the support of 12% of respondents, though pollsters note that surveys often overestimate third-party support.
